The Emerald Prison Formation required an enormous amount of resources and manpower. Over a hundred masters were there to set it up and each of them was left teetering at the limits of their bodies.
But this formation was well worth it.
Each vine and root was practically indestructible, no sword or technique could break out of this. Even if they could, more roots and vines would take their place. And it fed off of the energy that its victims released. In fact, it forced the energy out, taking it all like a voracious monster.
With that massive lightning spear and this formation, the Idol of Chaos was stuck. Soon enough, a small emerald mountain had taken built itself on top.
And finally, there was silence.
Everyone looked with interest, none of them powered their weapons or their guard. They watched and waited. Ming Yue and Du Xiu especially. The longer the Idol of Chaos stayed in there, the more likely it was defeated.
Their breaths were slow as they just watched.
But there was no sound or any tremor from within, not even after a minute. Even then none of them celebrated just yet, in everyone's minds the fight wasn't finished yet. It couldn't be.
And soon enough, there was a cracking sound before lightning shot out from the tip of the peak of this wooden mountain, going up to the clouds. And then they began to churn and spin as the formation slowly broke away.
"Of course", Ming Yue looked while tightening her grip on her dagger.
The True Idol floated out of it and its appearance was ghastly. Part of its body had been shrunken away as the skin was shriveled up. Its eyes were glowing intensely with a mix of black and white. And then it roared out like some wild beast.
The clouds above answered its call, sending down a lightning strike that destroyed the formation. Having recovered, Du Xiu sprinted before flying up, raising his halberd but the True Idol pointed at him without even sparing a glance, firing lightning at the commander. It was different, not solid black or white but a clashing of the two energies. It was even more powerful, even more ferocious than the previous ones. He immediately changed his stance, defending himself with his halberd just as the lightning came. And as it struck him, he was thrown back as his halberd bent from the attack. But he hadn't fallen yet, landing on his feet and dragging them across the ground as he slowed down.
Du Xiu groaned before spitting out some blood, looking at the True Idol.
"Don't tell me that this is its real power?" he thought.
Although he managed to block the attack, the impact was too much, rocking his internal organs. Before he could even act, a sense of doom overcame him like a chill as he noticed the churning clouds flash out. Even more of that chaotic lightning fell causing the ground to crack and form deep fissures.
"If only I had my sword, I would've been able to help more."
Ming Yue watched the fight unfold before looking at her knife. There were already cracks forming on the blade, it wouldn't last more than a few more strikes. But her grip on it tightened.
"There's no point in hoping for it. If this is what I have then it'll make do."
She grit her teeth and looked at her burnt arm, blackened and covered in boils. It was painful to even move but she could move it. But just as she was about to strike, the True Idol of Chaos did something else. With one hand focused on Du Xiu, it raised another hand up to the skies and its influence over the clouds expanded. They started to spin, focused on one point.
Moments later, they flashed as a figure fell from the skies, leaving behind a trail of smoke in its descent.
It was Ling Hun, the former Idol of Chaos, falling to the ground with a light thud. His body of energy had grown weak, the glow was faint and he himself was unmoving. He could no longer fight and then there was only Du Xiu and Ming Yue left, not even they were in much better shape.
The True Idol continued to hover, flying up above them all and gazing down with a ferocious glare.
"Fight! Fight and survive!"
Nie Xia suddenly shouted and he jumped forward, standing in front of Ming Yue. With his shout, the entire army mobilized.
"Use everything! Don't even think about holding back!"
His voice echoed out as a barrage of attacks came flying towards the True Idol. There was thundering on the ground as thousands of soldiers and warriors rushed forward. Yu Zhen moved forward as well, leaving the ranged units under the command of the captains. All of them ran to face the True Idol. Their steps were heavy as the sky was lit with the light of hundreds of attacks, illuminating the darkness of the blackened clouds.
As all of this happened, Du Xiu moved quickly, taking Gao Ri and Ling Hun away and retreating to the fortress. He dropped them off quickly before standing beside Ming Yue, glancing at her.
"Can you still fight?" he asked her.
She stood up and nodded looking at the scene now.
Whatever may have happened in that formation had forced the True Idol to snap. It didn't even speak anymore, it just threw lightning wherever it wished. Luckily many of them wore top-class armor but that could only last for so many hits.
Ming Yue then turned to look at the Nuwa Clan's tree, seeing it partially burnt. Smoke still rose out as embers struggled on, glowing a reddish contrast to the green leaves. Looking closer, she noticed the fairies all appearing, working together to heal the spirit and repair the tree.
And as if sensing her gaze, the spirit spoke to her. It was incredibly weak but it still spoke out.
"Child...you would not be able to kill it through normal means as it is now. Although the Nuwa Clan cannot offer as much help as before, we can still rid the world of this thing", it said.
"What do I have to do?" she asked, looking at the tree intently.
"You must take its... core... and destroy it... I cannot speak... for much longer... The clan must prepare..."
And the spirit's voice faded away before it could finish. However, the instruction was more than enough for Ming Yue, it was all she needed.
"Take the core and destroy it", she muttered.
Looking at her dagger, Ming Yue turned to Du Xiu, who slowly built up his power, gathering it into his halberd.
"I heard the spirit, we have to take that core. The issue is, where is it? The chest? The head?"
His eyes scanned the True Idol but there was nothing to show him where it was.
"If it weakens enough, perhaps we will find it then."
After saying this, he raised his halberd and shot it straight at the True Idol. The weapon flew like a meteor growing with power as it soared through the skies at a blazing speed. In less than a few seconds, it crashed into the True Idol, exploding with fiery fury.
Du Xiu sprinted forward before jumping and flying up. The other commanders soon joined up with him, brandishing their weapons. Camp Commander Bi raised up the battle standard, strengthening all of them. The Thirteen Messengers followed after them as a second wave, preparing to fight the True Idol.
In total, there were eighteen of them with the weakest being at the Sky Realm and the strongest just a tad shy of the Heaven Realm. But they were all experts and geniuses in their own right. And behind them, all were the hundreds of Earth and Human Realm soldiers.
This was their last stand against this god-like being.